Traditional wooden and plastic pallets lack the durability and strength necessary for stacking metal sheeting. Currently, industry standards include banding stacks of metal sheets and inserting pieces of lumber between each banded stack to create a point of insertion for a forklift. The present methods lack uniformity and limit how high banded stacks can be built up and stacked. Further, current methods are wasteful in terms of space requirements and labor resources and they create workplace safety issues as a great deal of time and effort are spent manually transporting and handling steel sheets.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an improved system for stacking and storing metal sheeting. A system in which metal sheeting may be stacked uniformly by providing a structure that holds stacks of metal sheets and prevents shifting is needed. Such a system would allow the user to: easily transport and store metal sheeting; stack pallets of metal sheeting in a safe, uniform manner; and allow the sheeting to be loaded directly into an automation machine for laser cutting if desired. The present invention overcomes the prior art shortcomings by accomplishing these critical objectives.